Hezbollah says negotiating with Israel would be surrender for Lebanon

Hezbollah chief Naim Qassem said Wednesday that negotiating with Israel under fire would amount to "surrender" for Lebanon, as Israeli premier Benjamin Netanyahu said his forces were "expanding" a "buffer zone" in Lebanon.

Netanyahu said the Israeli military had "created a genuine security zone" inside Lebanon and was "expanding this zone," as its ground forces tried to push deeper into Lebanon, on a day when Hezbollah issued dozens of statements claiming attacks on Israeli forces, News.Az reports, citing foreign media.

Israel, which occupied southern Lebanon for around two decades until 2000, has once again sent ground troops into Lebanon, saying it is attempting to take control of the area up to the Litani River, around 30 kilometers from the border.

As the two sides fought in the south, UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres warned that "the Gaza model must not be replicated in Lebanon," a comparison previously drawn by Israeli officials talking about their goals in Lebanon.

"Hezbollah must stop launching attacks into Israel. And Israel must stop its military operations and strikes in Lebanon, which are hitting civilians the hardest," Guterres told reporters at the UN.

By late Wednesday, Hezbollah said it had launched more than 80 attacks against Israel, the largest number the Iran-backed group has claimed since the start of the latest war.

News.Az